Top 5 Best Beer Bottle Fillers for Making Beer

Whether you are ready to put your beer from the kettle to the primary fermenter, primary to secondary fermentation, or putting your finished product into kegs or bottles, you will need a way to move your beer. While there are many different methods to move your beer, one of the easiest and most cost effective ways is with a bottle filler.

Bottle fillers will allow you to seamlessly move your beer from location to location without losing any of your product or making a huge mess.

This is very important as you will have to move your beer multiple times throughout the beer making process, and you want to maximize your end product volume and reduce the amount of time you spend on each move.

There are a few things to consider when looking at beer bottle fillers: for example, how much beer am I moving, how big is my work space, and am I filling empty beer bottles or kegs?

Plastic Spring Tip Bottle Filler

The Plastic Spring Tip Bottle Filler is one of the most basic bottle fillers. It is simple to use and easy to clean. The tip can be easily removed for sanitation purposes and will hold tight in place when resetting. The tip is a sturdy plastic that is straightforward to use.

All you have to do is depress the spring tip on the bottom of the bottle and allow it to fill. When your bottle is just about full, remove the filler and the spring loaded stopper will prevent your beer, wine, or cider from dripping between fills.

E.C. Kraus Plastic Bottle Filler: 3/8 tubing

The E.C. Kraus Plastic Bottle Filler is also a great bottle filler. It is easy to use, clean, and store away. It comes with a spring loaded tip that is more convenient than having to use tubing valves and clamps.

It works similarly to the Plastic Spring Tip Bottle Filler but the spring and gasket can sometimes leak causing some loss between fills. Also, this product does not come with tubing and has a paper label that will need to be removed before filling. If you don’t do this it may come off into your product.

Ferrari Automatic Bottle Filler

Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies’ Ferrari Automatic Bottle Filler is a spring tip loaded bottle filler. It comes in two colors, white and red, and is constructed to last a long time. This will allow you to fill hundreds of bottles a year.

By simply adjusting a rubber stopper you can fill any size bottle and easily transition between wine, beer, and bomber bottles. This filler has two tabs that can be depressed to stop the flow so you don’t lose any product between bottles.

The only issues with the Ferrari Automatic Bottle Filler is the spring tip tends to spray contributing to oxidation and foam. However, you can adjust the tip to regulate the flow of beer. This will help to reduce the amount of foam that is generated. This will contribute to a more consistent fill.

Regular 5/16” Auto-Siphon

The Fermetech Auto-Siphon works a little differently than the spring loaded tip fillers. It is very easy to use and can be easily sanitized. It is also more practical for larger transfers than the spring loaded tip fillers and is extremely affordable.

This auto-siphon uses larger tubes and is the perfect fit for moving multiple gallons at a time. All you have to do is pump it a few times and allow the beer to flow. It won’t make a mess and won’t risk contaminating your beer like other transfer methods may do.

It works for wine, cider, and beer reliably and comes with a filter on the end to stop any sediment from being moved. However, if you are planning on using it to bottle, you will need to purchase a release valve.

Counter Pressure Bottle Filler

The Pressure Bottle Filler, by WilliamsWarn, is the pinnacle of home bottling machines. This filler will allow you to operate without any mess or loss of carbonation. It is very easy use, clean, and will fill almost any size bottle.

The Pressure Bottle Filler actually fills your bottle with CO2 before running beer to create a counter pressure and almost eliminates the chances of creating off flavors from oxidation. This will contribute to a consistent product every time.

There are suction cups on the bottom that help to prevent movement during fills, however, it isn’t very balanced. I would recommend mounting this filler in your workspace to make sure that you don’t ever spill your wine or beer.

This Pressure Bottle Filler is a much better filler than the spring loaded tips and tube systems as it also can handle higher psi levels. However, it is much more expensive.

In fact, systems like these are usually a few hundred dollars more. But if you are going big, then this fill is a must.

Counter Pressure Systems vs. Traditional Fillers

Counter pressure systems are, in the end, a much better option for bottling. A counter pressure filler will reduce the time spent per bottle, chances of spills, and are much more durable over time. They are designed to address all possible issues with home bottling and guarantee your beer will stay fresh and carbonated. This makes counter pressure systems a smart long term investment. They are clearly the better choice when you are looking for a beer bottling machine.

While counter pressure systems seem to be flawless, you can’t beat the price of a traditional filler. Counter pressure systems are great, but they aren’t made for the beginner or casual brewer.

A counter pressure bottle filler machine typically costs a few hundred dollars more than a spring loaded bottle filler and may not be used for anything other than filling bottles. Traditional bottle fillers are inexpensive, easy to store, and are a great option when you aren’t bottling on a regular basis and are only bottling a couple gallons or less at a time.

My Vote for Best Beer Bottle Filler

For casual brewers looking for beer bottling equipment, I would recommend more of a traditional beer bottle filler. They are easy to use and won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

The Ferrari Automatic Bottle filler is a great option as it has a sturdy spring loaded plastic tip and stopping valves to guarantee a mess free experience. It is a little more expensive than some of its competitors, but it is worth the few extra bucks as you will likely be saving yourself some clean up time.

I would also recommend Fermetech’s Regular 5/16” Auto-Siphon as it is a great complement to this filler. You won’t need to purchase a stop valve in this case as you will be using your automatic bottle filler to fill bottles. This will allow you more ease when moving your beer before bottling and will be needed if you decide to keg rather than bottle.

With both the Fermetch Auto-Siphon and the Ferrari Automatic Bottle filler you will be able to seamlessly move your beer from container to container and spend less time cleaning up after yourself.

They are great complements and will be perfect additions to your home brew kit.